Once-in-a-Century Opportunity.

“At a fundamental level, Gray’s and Clemens’ values align with one another. We needed to partner with somebody where trust was the cornerstone of the journey,” said Doug Clemens, President and CEO Clemens Food Group.

Putting Shared Values into Practice

As family-owned businesses, Gray and Clemens put worker safety, food safety, and animal welfare first. The Coldwater facility delivers all three with innovation and a commitment to premium quality.

The facility follows Temple Grandin’s humane livestock handling methods, designed to provide comfort, fresh water, and freedom of movement. Each hog is tracked throughout the process and passes through multiple USDA inspections.

Gray provided a variety of design, construction, and engineering services for the project, including extensive work for the facility’s refrigeration systems and other
process utilities. Gray incorporated fully automated conveyance equipment and AS/RS into the facility’s design, resulting in improved efficiencies, a reduced building footprint, and a higher quality, more consistent product. At full capacity, the plant can process approximately 11,000 hogs per day.

Additionally, Gray implemented patented chilling procedures to ensure food safety and minimize product shrinkage, including a -25 °F Snap Chill freezer with a 3,128-ft chain, the longest and fastest such system in the world. Clean-in-Place and Clean-Out-Of-Place ensures thorough sanitation and food safety technology throughout the facility.

Most importantly: the Clemens and Gray teams celebrated 1,000,000 safe man-hours with more than 1,000 workers onsite during the 34-month project.